Expanding govt hospitals' private wings will burden doctors, says expert

A public health practitioner has criticised the Health Ministry’s proposal to expand “private wings” at government-run hospitals, which can generate revenue for the country’s underfunded public healthcare system.

Amar Singh HSS, who is a senior consultant paediatrician, said the plan would further burden doctors and compromise patient care.

In a post on X, Amar said he spoke from his previous experience when serving the public healthcare system, where he had to work extra hours because there were already so many patients.

“As a specialist in the Health Ministry, I worked long hours, and unpaid at that, because there were so many children who needed support.

“Who has the time to do FPP (full-paying patient)? It may compromise care and push responsibility to younger staff members,” he said.

Instead, Amar suggested the government provide better funding for public health services by cutting the budget to “unnecessary agencies” and projects.

According to the doctor, the government could have channelled its funding for beautification projects to provide a better healthcare system to the public.

On Sept 17, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad reportedly said that establishing FPP services within public hospitals would boost revenue by offering private services through existing infrastructure.

Netizens criticised the idea, with some arguing that it could undermine universal healthcare and that imposing wealth taxes instead could generate more revenue for public healthcare.

Dzulkefly had since defended the plan, saying that it would not affect subsidised care in public hospitals for the public.

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